Prehistoric fortified
city in the mountains of north-western Judea
about 2500 feet above the Mediterranean & about 15 miles
west of the northern shore of the Dead Sea. Jerusalem was
located on the ancient central north-south corridor about 20
miles north of Hebron
& 40 miles south of Shechem.

The pre-Hebraic city was built at the southern end of a low
prow-shaped hill called Ophel, west of the southern end
of the Mount of Olives. Though surrounded by higher, more
defensible ridges, the Ophel was better suited for
habitation because it was near an intermittent spring [Gihon].
The city was called Salem in stories of the Hebrew
patriarchs (18th c. BCE) & Jebus during the period
of the Israelite confederacy (12th-11th c. BCE). Unlike most
Canaanite cities, it did not resist the Israelite occupation of
the land & thus was not conquered by the Hebrews until David
took it & made it his personal capitol: "the city of
David." Since the city itself lacked historic significance
to Israelites, David brought the ark of the covenant to a
terrace on the knoll above the Ophel called "Mount" Moriah.
In addition to expanding the fortifications of the Ophel,
David's son Solomon commissioned the Phoenician Hiram of Tyre
to build a temple to house the ark on Mount Moriah (10th c. BCE).

In the minds of most Judeans, this shrine made Jerusalem
the holy city of Israel. But after Solomon the northern
Israelite tribes rejected Jerusalem's claim to preeminence &
built rival shrines at cities in their own territory (Bethel,
Dan & eventually Shechem).
After the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel [722 BCE],
however, Jerusalem became the primary center for the
preservation & development of Hebrew religious traditions.
Hezekiah strengthened its fortifications & diverted the
waters of the spring by a tunnel carved through the hill to a
pool [Siloam] just inside the southern wall of the city. With
such improved fortifications the city was able to withstand an
Assyrian siege. But in the 6th c. BCE it was sacked three times
by the Babylonians & its leading citizens deported to
Babylon.

(left) view of Herodian Jerusalem
from lower city up the Tyropean valley
with pool of Siloam center
& (right) pool of Siloam with entrance to Hezekiah's tunnel today

After the Persians conquered Babylon, many descendents
of the exiles were permitted to return to Jerusalem to rebuild
first their temple & then the city walls. During the Persian
& Hellenistic periods, Jerusalem remained a small city. But
after winning independence from Syria (165 BCE) Jerusalem was
expanded by the Hasmonean dynasty to include several hills to
the west of the Ophel. Yet, this growth was
overshadowed by the building projects of Herod
(after 39 BCE) who expanded the plateau on Moriah by building a
pyramid-like platform that covered the whole north end of the
city of David & Solomon. The Temple itself was destroyed by
fire during the war with Rome (70 CE). After another
unsuccessful Jewish revolt (135 CE), the emperor Hadrian
rebuilt Jerusalem as a Roman city.

temple mount with Islamic
shrine Dome of the Rock built
on site of ancient Jewish sanctuary

western wall of Herod's platform encasing temple mount
with outdoor synagogue at base